Pneumatic tire.



No. 799,164. PATENTBD SEPT. 12, 1905.

T. B. JEFFREY. PNEUMATIC TIRE.

APPLIUATIOH FILED NOV. 21, 1804.

- fl ZZ7Z655/56 5. I ($27; jufor,

732,5 uiiyifi THOMAS B. JE'FFIGRY, OF KENOSHA, \VlSCONSlN.

PNEUMATIC TIRE.

Spav .ification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 12, 1905.

Application flied November 21,1904. Serial No. 233,699.

To (all whom, it nun/y concern:

Be it l'fnown that I, Tnoims B. Jnrrnnr. a

citizen of the United States, residingat Kenosha, in the county ofKenosha and State of Visconsin, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Pneumatic Tires, of which the following is aspecification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forminga part thereof.

This invention is designed to h an improvement in pneumatic tiresparticularly adapted for use on heavy vehicles, but not limited to suchuse.

It consists of the features of construction set out in theclaims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a detail side elevation of a portion of atire embodying this invention. same being shown applied to a segmentofthe wheel. the tire being distended, as by inflation. Fig. 2 is asection at the line 2 2 on Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2-.showing the tire collapsed. Fig. i is a detail side elevation of aportion of a tire, showing a slight modification of the securing deviceor filler. Fig. 5 is a partial transverse section of a tire having asomewhat modified form in cross-section of the two elements, same beingshown dissected or as it would appear with the hooks separated from thetire edges. Fig. 6 is a similar View of such tire shown inflated.

The present invention is in certain respects intended as an improvementupon the tire for which there was granted to me September 2, 1902.Patent No. 708,482, and the improvements have the same general purposeas stated in that patent-yiz., to reduce the liability of a pneumatictire to deteriorate by what may be called internal wear-/I. 1. thetendency of the alternate contraction and expansion and bending andflattening to break down the structure f the fabric.

The effect, especially at the sides. (of the customary cylindricaltire.) of the flattening to which every part of the wholecircumferential extent of the tire is exposed the wheel rolls whilecarrying a load is to bend the fabric in a very short curve transverselywith re- E spect to the tire, stretching the outer fibers andcompressing the inner fibers as compared with their normal conditionunder inflation.

marginal bosses of the tire elements betore Such action. .alternatingwith the resumption of the cylii'idrical form which the inflation tendsto maintain, produces a back-and-forth bending or hinge-like actioh atthe sides, which grinds the fibers constantly back and forth upon eachother, rapidly exhausting the tenacity and elasticity of the structureand rendering it particularly liable to rupture at the The result isthat although the sides are exposed to .ar less direct work on the roadway than is the center of the tread nevertheless round tires are foundruptured at the sides more frequently than they are found worn throughor ruptured by wear at the tread. This result is primarily due to thenormally cylindrical form which involves the sharp bending at the sides,as above described, when the tire is flattened at-the tread as it rollson the roadway. This defect is avoided by making the tire so that it hasthe seam or seams or other form of junctions between the parts whichcompose it located laterally-at the point where the sharp bend wouldoccurinstead of having at the sides the continuous fabric which must beexposed to such sharp bending. This principle of construction isfollowed in the form of tire herein shown.

1 represents the rim of the vehicle-wheel, whose outer periphery isslightly hollowed for seating the tire thereon. The tire consists of aninner and outer concentric band 2 and 3, respectively, which may beconstructed in a customary manner of making outer casings fordouble-tube pneumatic tires--that is to say, they are each approximatelyflat in cross-section before being applied to the wheel, a slightinitial curvature such as is seen in Fig. 3, being, however, normal.These two flexible bands, the innerof which is seated upon the peripheryof the wheel-rim encompassing the latter and the outer of whichencompasses the former, are connected together at their lateral edges byhooks l 4: 4, &c., to any number found desirable distributed throughoutthe circumference of the wheel. hi the form shown in Figs. -1 to 4:.inclusive, both of the tire elements 2 and 8 are formed with beads orheavy marginal bosses 5 5 at their lateral edges adapted to engage inthe recesses of the hooks 4, and when the corresponding edges of boththe tire elements are thus engaged in a hook the span of the hook isfully occupied by the two beads, as seen in the drawings; out one lip rof the hook is more widely open than the other, so that when the hookengaged over the two beads or inflationthat is, while the said tireelements are approximately flat-there remains in the node or anglebetween the main body ot one of the tire elements and its bead a spaceunder the more widely open hook-lip, whichmay be occupied by a, filler,but which when unoccupied permits the easy disengagement of the bead ormarginal boss of the outer tire element from the hook. The twoelementsbeing properly located with respect to each other and connected togetherby the books at both edges before inflation are rendered undisengageableand the hooks rendered unremovable by entering in said space a filler,which may consist either of a continuous ring 6, of wire, braid, cord,or rod of suitable diameter or cross-section to occupy the spaces inquestion under all the hooks throughoutthe circumference of the wheel orby an individual filler or key 6 at each hook. The drawings show hooksas applied so that the more widely open lip overhangs the outer tireelement. In order to relieve the user of the necessity of exercisingmore care in placing the hooks than might be convenient to bring themore widely spaced lips all on the outer side and to make it possible toemploy them placed in either way-71. a, with the widely-open lip eitherat the outer or the inner side of the junction-seam between the twotireelements-the individual fillers may be provided. Convenient materialfor such individual fillers is block-tin wire or rod of proper diameterto occupy the space under the lip of a suitable length, so that beinginserted the ends may be bent out to clench around the edge ofthehook-lip, and so prevent dislodgment of the filler. The block-tinwire, itwill be understood, can be readily manipulated with the fingers.When the continuous ring is employed. it is preferably of similardiameter, but stifl'er material, constituting a hoop more or lesselastic, which may be passed over the junction-seam after the hooks arein place all around the wheel before inflation, and upon inflation itwill be forced into the space under the more widely spaced hook-lips.

I do notlimit myself to any particular;

form of filler. Any material of sufficient firmness to be forced intothe space and not liable to be compressed too much by the pressure towhich it will be exposed therein will serve the purpose; but I considera comparatively flexible rod or wire, such as that made of block-tin, orseveral wires forming a cord or braid, to be particularly convenient forthe detached or individual fillers, and a hoop or wire of similardiameter and substance in one piece convenient for the filler in thatcontinuous form.

In Figs. 5 and 6 I have shown a form of tire embodying certain of theimportant features of the tire shown in the other figures teases generalsurface of th e tire when the latter is uninflated, but within or backof these reinforced edge portions.

ble, it is possible to apply the hooks 4 and clench them over the edgesof the tire in the manner seen in Fig. 6, causing the points of thehooks to sink somewhat in the substance of the tire inward from thereinforced edge portions, so that when the engagement is completethereare substantial marginal bosses or beads of the tire membersengaged in-the hook-recesses, and when once thus engaged the inflationof the tire deflecting the two members around the hook-points, as seenin Fig. 6, sinks the hooks still farther and renders the. junctionsecure because of the unyielding character of the reinforced edgeportion.

I claim 1. A pneumatic tire comprisinga casing of flexible materialclosed by joining the lateral edges at the side of the tire,'saidlateral edges being marginally reinforced, and the means for joiningsuch edges comprising a multiplicity of double-lipped hooks which engagethe reinforced edges, distributed throughout the circumference of thetire.

The substance of the. tire being comparatively soft and compressicentricflexible bands united-at their corre-- sponding lateral edges, saidedges being rein forced, and the means of joining them comprising amultiplicity of double-lipped hooks which engage the bands back of thereinforcement, such hooks being-distributed throughout the circumferenceof the tire.

' 3. A pneumatic tire comprising two concentric flexible bands united attheir corresponding lateral edges, said edges being flexible and beingalso reinforced for diminishing their compressibility, and means forjoining such edges consisting of a multiplicity of doublelipped hookswhich engage said edges back of the reinforcement and are distributedthrough! out the circumference of the tire.

4. A pneumatic tire comprising two concentric flexible bands united attheir corresponding lateral edges, such edges being provided with beadsfacing away from the junction plane of the two bands; means for joiningthem, consisting of a multiplicity of doublelipped or C-shaped hooksdistributed about the circumference of the tire and engaging theoppositely-projecting beads of the two bands.

5. Apneumatic tire comprising two concentric flexible bands united attheir corresponding lateral edges, said edges being provided with beadsfacing away from the. junction plane of the two bands, the means ofjoining them comprising double-lipped or C-shaped hooks adapted toengage such oppositely-projecting beads and the keys or fillersinterposed under one of the hook-lips.

6. A pneumatic tire comprising two concentric flexible bands united attheir correspondsuch edges consisting of double-lipped 0r inglateraledges, said edges havingoppositelyi C-shaped hooks distributedthroughout the facing beads; means of uniting them consistcircumferenceembracing the beads; and flexiing of donble-lipped or 0-shaped bookswhich ble keys or fillers interposed between one lip 5- span theabnttingedgesof thebandsandengage and the corresponding bead andclenched or 20 their respective beads, one of the hook-lips 1 foldedoutwardly about the hook-lip for rebeing more widely open than theother,where- 5 taining the filler in place.

by there is afforded space between the same In testirnny whereot'Ihavehereunto set my and the bead, and the key or filler inserted in hand, inthe presence of two witnesses, at Chi- IO such space. cage, Illinois,'his 17th day of October, A. D. 25

7. Apneumatictirecomposedoftwoconcen- 1904. tric flexible bands unitedat their correspondi THOS. B. JEFFERY. ing lateral edges, said edgesbeing provided T In presence of with beads projecting from theoutersurfaces M. G. ADY,

FREDK. G. FISCHER.

5 of the bands respectively; means for uniting

